Comic Geek Speak Podcast - The Best Comic Book Podcast

GO JOE!!! In celebration of 40 years since the creation of the GI Joe comics and animated series, we venture back to the very beginning of it all. Shane, Chris, Ian and Matt give their thoughts on issue 1 of the GI Joe comic, written by the one and only Larry Hama, with art by the legendary Herb Trimpe. But do they stop there? NO! The crew also goes deep into GI Joe's very first five-part animated miniseries, The M.A.S.S. Device. Discussion includes variation in tone between the two versions of the franchise, whether the comic is as kid-friendly as the show, if the show is even as kid-friendly as we remember it to be, the 80s house animation style, Scarlett's split romantic longings, Cobra Commander's competency or lack thereof, Snake Eyes glowing like a Christmas tree, a lot more references to slavery than we remembered, the slaughtering of an entire village, Destro having all the best one-liners, and so much more. Much more includes plenty of toy talk from Shane and the rest of the Geeks, that's for sure! S

Tis the season for reading Previews, falalala lalalala. Well okay fine, it's always the season to read Previews, but it is especially so come December! Ian, Murd and Chris (who sticks around until Marvel is done) discuss their choice choices within Diamond Previews issue 411, DC Connect issue 31, and Marvel Previews Vol 6 issue 15, with books mostly set for release in February 2023. Highlights include the return of Superman and his corresponding book, a whole lot of Paco Medina art in X-Men's Sins of Sinister event, Fleecs and Seeley's Local Man, and there's a few romance books to be found, but there's also a surprising amount of horror titles all over the catalogs; take that to mean whatever you'd like it to mean. Plus, we peruse the Free Comic Book Day selections that will be available come May 2023, when the weather is warm once more and snow is a distant memory! (2:40:37)

Comic Talk galore starting off with World of Toys, followed by discussions including How much is your comic collection worth?; Growing up with G.I.Joe; CGS History; Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special; Indiana Jones; Sense 8; first episode of For All Mankind; Discovering new works from beloved creators; Adventures of Captain America with Kevin Maguire; the great Alphabetizing Comic Book Titles debate; reviewing the New Golden Age oneshot by Geoff Johns; Avatar; Christopher Nolan movies; and more! (2:11:36)

A gathering of Geeks consisting of Murd, Shane, Matt, Chris and Ian are joined by you, the listeners this episode for our second ever Super Zoom! That's right, this one has a (virtual) audience, as we go through our recent reads, give some non-spoiler supplemental thoughts on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, go over DC Infinite Ultra's latest additions to its library, catch up with longtime friends of the show such as Julie Benson and Eric Nolen-Weathington, and we finish up our remaining Listener Q&A, this time from the Super Group. We also have one of the greatest Muddle the Murd moments in this show's history, and read a listener email to close us out. A true tonic for the spirit, indeed! (2:16:22)

It's a feast of Comic Talk topics including Weather Geek Speak; Alpha Flight and Fantastic Four by John Byrne; Comic stores in and around Reading, PA.; meeting Jim Shooter; Alan Moore's Swamp Thing; Kevin O'Neill; Who will be the comic book greats of the future?; Carlos Pacheco; Kevin Conroy; Byrne's She-Hulk 1; the Epic Comics line; Alfred Hitchcock Presents: "Lamb to the Slaughter"; DC Comics in the early 2000s; What year would be your new Golden Age?; DCUI Ultra tier; even more Star Wars Andor talk; Apple TV recommendations; and more! (2:35:05)

It's time to end your week with a healthy helping of Previews! This November 2022 edition covers comics mostly set for release in the New Year of January, 2023. Join Chris, Murd and Ian along with Shane (up until midway through DC) for their picks of the comic book litter in Diamond Previews issue 410, DC Connect issue 30, and Marvel Previews Volume 6, issue 14. Highlights include the return of Darkwing Duck, a new era of Superman comics, and the altered state of X-Men known only as Sins of Sinister. Let's get dangerous! (2:11:33)

Straight from the theater to the studio, it's time to go in-depth and spoilery on Marvel's latest movie sequel. Four years in the making, return to the hidden land of Wakanda along with Shane, Murd and Chris, as they give their fresh feelings on the film. Did Ryan Coogler succeed in his second outing as director? How will the franchise succeed in moving forward, even without the late, great Chadwick Boseman as its star, while Letitia Wright's Shuri takes center stage? And what will the long-awaited arrival of Marvel's first character do to affect Marvel movies moving forward? Listen in and find out for yourselves, True Believers! (1:20:30)

We return the favor after many an appearance on his Back to the Bins podcast, as Chris, Shane, Murd and Ian are joined by longtime friend and fellow podcaster, Paul Spataro! After starting with some comic news, including James Gunn becoming head of DC Studios, the casting of Disney+'s Wonder Man and the upcoming Vision Quest, and the Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania trailer, the crew go on to review in spoilery detail Dwayne Johnson's superhero spotlight and DC's latest film, Black Adam. From there, topics include Ian's trip to Boston and pilgrimage to Newbury Comics, Pop Star Assasins: Of Suspicious Minds, Shane and Chris go Blue and Gold, Paul reminisces on John Buscema and his time on Silver Surfer, DC Universe Infinite gets closer to day and date, Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths continues, Human Target continues to hit the target, Gotham City: Year One, some Bronze Age Marvel Monster action in the Tomb of Dracula and The Monster of Frankenstein, thanks to Werewolf by Night's influence on Chris and Murd, B

We join the the Geeks already in progress, as there's plenty to discuss with a group consisting of Peter, Brian, Pants, Shane and now Kevin! Topics include selling Kevin's collection; the trade paperback market; Heritage Auctions; Werewolf by Night; the need for more Marvel animation; the first episodes of Gunsmoke, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Moonlighting; Sword of Azrael by O'Neil, Quesada and Nowlan; the Paper Girls TV show; a recap of NYCC 2022, and more! (2:02:30)

Say their name three times and they'll appear...Comic Geek Speak! Comic Geek Speak!! Comic Geek Speak!!! The Speakers of Geek present a Creepy Creature Double Feature just in time for All Hallows' Eve. First, head back to 1988 and Tim Burton's classic, Beetlejuice. Then, we go modern (and simultaneously retro) to give our thoughts on Marvel's first ever holiday special, Werewolf by Night. So grab your candy bucket, tuck the kids in, and turn out all the lights, this one's gonna be a scare! (1:52:43)

New York Comic Con 2022 was held from October 6-9, 2022. Now that the con has been put to bed, this Comic Timing/CGS crossover episode goes into the minutia of what went down, from the mindset of longtime convention attendees, artist alley participants, and one first-timer. The crew consists of Ian Levenstein (haven't missed a NYCC yet!), Kris Naudus, Jamal Igle, Julian Lytle, and Donovan Morgan Grant. They discuss both positives and negatives, ranging from layout to inconsistent rules management, panel slate, the exhibition floor, crown management, and a whole lot more. Plus some comic book recommendations at the end to round us out. (2:06:18)

Mid-month Previews action ahead for you all! Ian and Murd are joined by Chris up until the back of the book, when the two soldier on as a duo, giving you the best comic picks they can muster in Diamond Previews 409, DC Connect 29 and Marvel Previews Vol 6 issue 16, for books mostly set for release in December. Some holly jolly holiday fun to be had, plus the return of a Disney Afternoon gem thanks to the combined might of Dynamite and Greg Weisman, Gargoyles! (2:22:39)

Bryan, Peter, Pants and Shane return for more casual conversation of the geek variety. Topics include a return to conventions, original art and the comic book art world; Willow; Andor; She-Hulk; Star Trek; Batman: Hush; Daredevil 1 by Kevin Smith, Joe Quesada & company; Spider-Man 1 by Todd McFarlane and company; and more! (2:07:30)

It's still September, so here, have a Previews! Murd, Ian and Shane start the show off dissecting Diamond Previews 408, DC Connect 28 and Marvel Previews Vol 6 issue 12, for books primarily set for release in November 2022. Chris then joins the convo in the middle of DC and sticks around for the rest of the episode. To summarize this month, the 90s are back in so many ways; Wildstorm, Crossgen, WildCATS, Spawn, Ben Reilly, Young Justice, oh my! And after all of that, there's some t-shirts worth mentioning in the Merch section. (2:44:36)

In an unprecedented turn of events...PANTS IS BACK!!! Listen as he joins The Founders™ Peter and Bryan, along with Shane, to go over so many topics, such as...Cobra Kai; 60s TV; the Fugitive; Retro Con; Rogue Squadron; the Last Jedi; the Hobbit trilogy; Rings of Power; Dark Crystal; old lore vs new lore; a Netflix rant ; She-Hulk; Thor Love & Thunder; Clerks 3; Kevin Smith; movie theatre talk; Tom King comics; Amazing Spider-Man; John Romita Jr.; Alex Ross' Fantastic Four Full Circle; Todd McFarlane's Spider-Man; Heroes Reborn; Peter David; Dan Slott; Werewolf by Night and more! (1:52:05)

Inker extraordinaire and longtime friend of the show Juan Castro joins Chris, Murd, Ian and Shane for this episode, as we discuss his work on books including Blood Syndicate, The Wrong Earth, and Dudley Datson and the Forever Machine! We also go into our thoughts on Netflix's Sandman, Amazon Prime's (unfortunately canceled) Paper Girls, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Clerks 3, Elvis, and recent reads ranging from Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #4 to Supergirl: World of Tomorrow, Batman: One Bad Day - The Riddler, X-Men '92: House of XCII, Amazing Spider-Man 900's back-matter, and much more. Plus some World of Toys GI Joe updates, a listener voicemail, Muddle the Murd, mailbag, and more! (2:32:20)

Hot off the heels of a return to the studio, let's return to the origins of CGS, shall we? Bryan and Peter reunite on Zoom once more, this time with a third in the form of the one and only Shane. The trio discuss a bevy of geeky topics, as is tradition. That include changing habits of watching TV; Umbrella Academy; DVDs vs streaming libraries; the art of Chris Bachalo; Strange New Worlds; For All Mankind; Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness; our current comic reading habits; the world of comic retail; G.I.Joe toys; Everything Everywhere All at Once and more!  (2:05:10)

It's time to open up the queue and query some questions! Murd, Chris and Ian are here to answer these to the best of our abilities, submitted by our faithful Patrons. Best of all, the festivities occurred live and in studio! And if you listen closely, you may hear a familiar voice from times gone by asking said questions. Who, you may ask? Listen, and figure it out! (1:11:50)

We're back, live in studio for the first time in a little more than a year! And as has become tradition when us Geeks get together, a spotlight will follow. Chris Eberle meticulously drafted a breakdown of one of Marvel's most meticulous, crafty, and dangerous villains, the one and only Green Goblin! We go through his cooky origins featuring a movie set, a broomstick and The Hulk to stories much closer to the Goblin we know and love as the Silver Age draws on. Key issues include The Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine issue 2, Amazing Spider-Man 39 and 40, and the first issues of Marvel to dare to go without the Comics Code Authority, issues 96 through 98. We also discuss Norman's fatherly relationship with Peter and his lack thereof with Harry, some appearances in other media, and so much more. And after all, what better way to get ready for fall than to talk about various pumpkins? (2:18:19)

Back at it again with that Previews catalog! Tonight, Murd and Ian are your duo of choice, covering solicits within the pages of Diamond Previews 407, DC Connect 27 and Marvel Previews Vol 6 issue 11, for books mainly scheduled for release in October 2022. Many a spoooooky selection to be had, in honor of the upcoming Halloween season. So grab some candy, and enjoy this treat of an episode with us! No trick. (2:52:59)